


Trapped (With You)

by SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock



Series: Supernatural As Told by Me: If Cas Was Always There [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bottom Castiel, M/M, Top Dean, sex in a book store
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 12:14:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9820127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock/pseuds/SuperWhoAvengeTrekLock
Summary: Castiel Novak is working on Christmas Eve in his family's book store when a snow storm hits. The power gets knocked out and him and a stranger that had been drying off in the bathroom end up with each other for the night... but the instant connection leaves them beyond confused and craving each other.This fic is a base fic and there will be little series updates that follow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> WHAT?! She's been gone for months and she just comes back with a 20k work fic? What is this? Hopefully the start of something a bit bigger... I hope you enjoy :)

Castiel sighed softly to himself. He couldn’t believe that of all nights, his parents were making him look after the book shop on Christmas Eve. It was barbaric. It was blasphemous… at least in his mind.

“It’s good for business,” he mimicked his parents as he shelved the books that had just arrived a few days previous.

As much as he hated to admit it… his parents were right. Christmas Eve was good for business because they didn’t just sell books in their store. They sold electronics and electronic reading tablets. They sold things like headphones, journals, fancy pens, and they even had an assortment of DVD’s. Really, it was a one stop shop if you were heading somewhere last minute and you needed a gift. He just didn’t know why it had to be _him_.

“Frickin’ parents,” he grumbled. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about being thought a weirdo. There wasn’t anyone else in the store besides him. Not that anyone would be able to hear him with the Christmas music he had blasting.

He sighed once again as he looked around the store. At the very least, it was almost time for closing and he could go home to his bed and wake up with his family in the morning. As he looked around the store for something else to do, the wind kicked up outside and he looked out, realizing how heavy the snow was falling. He frowned, thinking about calling his parents and telling them he was coming home early when suddenly the lights flickered up ahead.

Castiel’s eyes widened and his eyes went to the front door. “No, no,” he muttered, nearly tripping on his feet to get to the door but he was already too late as the lights went out, leaving him in the dark. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he said as he tried the door but it wouldn’t budge. “Ugh, Dad!”

A few years back, when they had had the security system in the shop put in, one night someone had broken in by cutting the power and they’d been robbed. So his Dad had installed a fail safe that made it so the doors locked anytime the power was cut. And now, he was locked inside the store...

 

If you had told Dean Winchester that he would have been sitting in the bathroom of a god forsaken book store on Christmas Eve, practically drenched from head to toe– naked– and trying to dry his clothes with one of those hand dryers, he would have told you to piss off and not wish something so horrible on him. Yet there he was, running his shirt under the hand dryer.

He cursed inwardly and shook his head at his luck. The night had started off like any other. Just a hunt by himself. That’s all it was. He could handle that. His father usually let him out alone. But when his dad had sent him to what, he was sure, was one of the snowiest states in America, he hadn’t been all that thrilled. But he’d gassed up, put snow chains on Baby and off he went.

He’d just finished the case, too. He was on his way _out_ of town when he’d slid, even with the damn snow chains and now his car was stuck in a snowbank about a mile up the road. He’d walked in the heavy snow until he’d seen the shop and decided to dry off before he asked someone to call for some kind of a tow.

Dean looked up at the locked door, hearing the Christmas songs on the other side of it and he couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. He wasn’t the biggest fan of Christmas. What with his entire life spent on the run, his brother off at Stanford, and his father telling him to ‘skip Christmas, it was never all that important.’ He would love to tell the store owner to knock it off but that would mean coming out from his spot with no dry clothes.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. He’d finished his shirt, his boxers, and his socks but his leather still wasn’t dry and neither were his jeans.

But it was that moment that everything stopped, the lights went off and the hand dryer cut out and he nearly growled. “Oh come on!” he said. He pulled on his shirt and boxers, thinking that someone had cut the lights to get him out of the bathroom and he was going to give them a piece of his mind.

 

Castiel heard noise from the back of the store and his eyes widened, thinking that it wasn’t just the power cutting out from the storm but someone actually trying to break in. He moved, grabbing the nearest– and thickest– book he could find in the dark, his hands fumbling a little.

He walked forward apprehensively, book at the ready to swing. He made it to the back of the store where he thought he could hear a voice. Part of him wanted to run and hide under one of the tables but the other part said he was clearly hearing things.

Or at least, he would have kept thinking that if the bathroom door didn’t open, a light coming through. Castiel shrieked, eyes closed, as he swung the book with as much force as he could manage and feeling it connect with something before it dropped to the floor with a thud.

“Ow!” Dean called out shining the light of his phone up at his attacker. “Dude, what the fuck?!”

Castiel squinted into the light, still brandishing the book. “Wh-who are you and what do you want? Why were you in my bathroom? Are you robbing me? Why don’t you have pants?!”

Dean rubbed his head, dizzy from questions and oh, the large book that his aggressor must have been holding. “Whoa!” he said, putting one hand up, the one with the phone in it. “I’m not going to rob you, okay? Look, my car went into a snowbank about a mile up the road, I walked here, I locked myself in the bathroom and I was using your hand dryer to try to dry my clothes when the power went off in there, alright? You were the only thing open.”

Castiel watched the man for a moment before he put the book down slowly, still not completely trusting this man. “The um… the power went out everywhere… the whole store,” he said, because that was all he felt like he could deal with at the moment. He didn’t even want to think about the lack of pants.

Dean looked around, noticing that the other man was right, the whole store was out. So he hadn’t been cut off, the whole store had. Perfect. He looked back up at the man, wincing as he got a twinge in his head.

Castiel winced as well, immediately feeling bad as he kneeled down, trying to get a look at his head. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to bludgeon you. I thought you were an intruder.”

Dean watched him, watched how close he was getting and now he could really see the man above him and the only thing on his mind was the word; wow. He looked into his eyes, observing as his deep blue eyes surveyed him for any injury. He had never seen a guy with eyes like that. Hell, he’d never seen a girl with eyes like that. With eyes like the ocean that were making him think poetic thoughts he’d never had before. But it wasn’t just his eyes that had caught his attention. It was--

Dean cleared his throat, trying not to think about it too much. “Uh… it’s okay. I’ve been bludgeoned with worse,” he said, wishing he hadn’t.

Castiel couldn’t help but release a small chuckle as he looked at the other man’s face that was illuminated by the light on the end of his phone. He could see beautiful green eyes and freckles underneath. He always liked freckles. “Well I don’t think I left a mark or caused any permanent damage…”

Dean gave a small smile before he looked off into the store, thinking of a way to get to his car or at least to a motel. “Hey. Look, man. I’m kinda car-less right now… do you think you could drive me to the nearest motel? I’ll even pay you.”

Castiel’s smile wavered. “Unfortunately, neither of us are going anywhere,” he sighed. “Not for a little while. You see, this is my family’s store and a few years back we got broken into, actually a few times… long story short, my Dad installed a fail safe so that if the power was cut, all windows and doors are automatically sealed shut until they are unlocked from the outside or the power turns back on and someone enters the code to the system… It was to catch whoever it was.”

At that, Dean was sure his night couldn’t get any worse. Oh yeah, it could, because he was down to his underwear and without power, this place was sure to get pretty cold. Awesome. He groaned. “So I am stuck in a bookstore, in a blizzard… half naked… Great,” he sighed as he flopped back to the carpet.

Castiel chuckled lightly at man's dramatics. “Well… look at it this way. We could be alone?” he offered before he stuck his hand out. “My name is Castiel. What’s yours?”

Dean peeked his eye open to look back up at him before he propped himself up on his elbows. He contemplated the name for a moment. It was odd, different… he’d never heard anything like it, he was sure. “Dean,” he said, taking his hand.

Castiel smiled, thinking he liked that name. “Well, Dean. I think you may have a bit of luck. My brother, he keeps extra clothes here because he runs story corner with the kids and they always seem to get something on him. You’re about his size so… I think I can help you on the clothes front.”

 

“These clothes are for douchebags,” Dean said as Castiel showed him the clothes that belonged to his brother.

Castiel couldn’t help but snicker. “My brother Gabriel says the same thing. But Michael loves them,” he said before he searched deeper into the locker, finding a red plaid shirt. “Oo. Michael wore this when he read Paul Bunyan to the kids? It’s less douche-y, I think. More neutral.”

Dean nodded, finally seeing a piece of clothing he was used to. He didn’t want to touch on the subject that some of his normal clothes were what lumberjacks wore. He slipped it on, already feeling warmer, but the fact that he still didn’t have pants was becoming more and more pressing.

Castiel hummed. “On second thought… it doesn’t look like Michael has any pants in here… but we have novelty sweatpants up stairs in the store,” he smiled and nodded, grabbing one of the flashlights they’d put together out of book lights but they were already getting dull as the batteries were used. Even stuck like this, if Castiel took too much from the store, his father might kill him.

“I would be happy with just pants right now,” he nodded, sighing a little.

Dean wasn’t exactly modest, no. But the fact that he was with a random stranger, without pants, and he wasn’t getting laid… well that was odd to him. Not to mention, he had been right; it was getting increasingly cold in the store.

“I thought you were supposed to be a bookstore?” Dean asked as he followed Castiel, finding it weird that they sold so much stuff.

“We are. But we find it beneficial to sell more than just books and to make it more like a homey library feel. We have a bakery slash coffee shop at the other end of the store and we have couches and chairs set up throughout the store. We sell electronics, but mostly anything that can be qualified as an electronic reader so tablets. We also sell blankets and different winter gear because it’s cold a lot and you’d be surprised how fast we go through them. You should actually feel lucky that we do or else you’d be stuck in a store with no way to see and no pants,” Castiel said with an amused grin.

Dean’s stomach grumbled at Castiel's. “There’s a bakery in this place, you said?” he asked, knowing that if he was going to survive the night, he was going to need food.

“Yes, but I’m going to warn you that a lot of it is freshly baked and everyone went home hours ago, just the store part was still open so everything has been cleaned up and we have no electricity. But we do have some special order things that come frozen and we thaw. Leave ‘em out long enough and we’ll have food,” he nodded.

Dean nodded as they made it to the rack and saw the sweat pants and really, never did a pair of black sweat pants with the word ‘Vikings’ down the pant leg look so inviting to him. “Finally,” he grumbled as he set the flashlight down and immediately started to pull off his shoes in order to pull on the pants.

Castiel tried to give him his privacy even though he was only putting a layer on. He looked over to the sweatshirts and found that none of them were his size, all too overly baggy but he knew that it would be better to be warm than freezing so he grabbed one and busied himself with putting it on.

When they were both dressed, they shared a glance before looking around the store. “Alright. Now what?” Dean asked.

“Now we try to get you some food,” he said as he made a gesture and led Dean to the bakery. He peered in. “Oh. It seems you’re in luck. It looks like one of the employees forgot to put away the–”

“Pie,” Dean groaned like a mindless zombie as he saw what Castiel did. The pie was decorated, Christmas patterns cut into the top layer of crust so, surely, it was supposed to go with someone when they left for the night and they’d forgotten it.

Castiel lifted an eyebrow. “I take it you like pie?” he asked as Dean seemed to go crazy.

Dean grinned, his first real smile of the night. “Pie is my staple food, man,” he said to him as he hopped the counter and went after it, searching for some type of fork, not even worried about cutting it, really.

Castiel chuckled. “Okay,” he offered. “I’m going to go back and get some of those blankets I talked about and try to find my phone in the dark… see if I can get any kind of signal,” he said to Dean.

Dean looked up. “You don’t want any?” he asked as he found a fork. Usually, he wasn’t one to share but he wasn’t going to be stingy if Castiel needed sustenance as well. “Don’t tell me you don’t like pie. I don’t think I can spend my night with a guy who don’t appreciate pie,” he half teased.

There was a chuckle in Castiel's voice as he shook his head. “Don’t worry. While I appreciate my pie, I had food a little while ago,” he nodded.

Dean shrugged in a ‘more for me’ fashion and went about digging in.

 

When Castiel came back, his eyes widened as he saw that there was only about a quarter of the pie left. “Wow. You weren’t kidding. You really love pie, don’t you?” he chuckled as he looked over it as he set down the many blankets.

Dean looked up, no guilt or shame on his crumb ridden face. “This is the first thing I’ve eaten in about six hours, man,” he said.

“Hey, no judgement,” Castiel said with a smile. “So I’ve got good news and bad news. Which would you like first?”

Dean didn’t think about it as he said “Bad news,” before he stuffed another bite of pie in his mouth.

“Well the bad news is that I can’t get a signal. So it looks like our phones aren’t good for anything except for a flashlight right now,” he said.

Dean sighed but he nodded. He _had_ been the one to ask for the bad news. “And the good news?”

“I got tons of blankets here so we aren’t going to freeze tonight. And this is just what I could carry. There’s more back there and in the stockroom.”

Dean nodded as he looked around, trying to let his hunter mentality take course and figure a way out. At least if he could find a way out, he could get them back to his car or get somewhere that had a signal and call for help. “Well your glass is shatter proof, I’m guessing. Your family wouldn’t go through the trouble of locking someone in if they weren’t sure they couldn’t get out,” he pointed out, knowing that trying to shoot at it would be pointless.

Castiel nodded, though he gave Dean a look. To be honest, his first impression of Dean was that he was probably some type of jock. The kind that wouldn’t talk to him if he didn’t have to. But clearly, the mysterious stranger was smarter than Castiel gave him credit for. “You would be right. That’s why it wasn’t my first suggestion. That and my parents would kill me,” he said before he wrapped his arms around himself.

Dean sighed. “Okay so breaking out to get to my car isn’t an option,” he muttered, a thought occurring to him. “And I swear if anyone touches Baby, I’m going to hunt them down and murder them,” he said under his breath.

Castiel grinned. “You call your car Baby?” he asked. “I don’t know whether to find that funny and adorable or just sad,” he teased Dean.

Dean stabbed a piece of pie on his fork, leveling him with a look as he waved it at him. “Hey, say anything else you want about me, I don’t give two shits. Keep my Baby out of it.”

Castiel snickered. “Yes, sir,” he said.

They remained quiet until Dean leaned up from the pie and deemed himself full. He couldn’t help himself as he shined the light out at the vast store. “Alright… what now?” he asked.

“Now you follow me again,” Castiel said as he gathered the blankets again and led Dean to the back of the store.

As they reached the back of the store, Castiel gestured to the two couches that were the same, facing each other. “This is where we’ll sleep. There’s nothing but floor everywhere else.”

They picked couches and sat down, Castiel only seeing the other by the book light he was holding up but it was beginning to flicker and it would be moments before the batteries fave out. They were quiet for a very long time. Castiel watched as Dean tried over and over to find a signal on his phone and failed. He closed his eyes as if trying to feel tired but after a few moments he just opened them again and so, he decided, to talk to the stranger, maybe make him less of a stranger.

“So what brought you to our town?” he asked.

At that, Dean looked up. He was tempted to tell Castiel the truth just because he wouldn’t believe him and he’d never see him again but he just gave a noncommittal shrug and cleared his throat. “Uh. Business,” he said and immediately he regretted it because what Castiel asked next was exactly what he’d been hoping to avoid.

“What kind of business?”

“Business, man,” Dean said, a bit snappier than he meant it to be. “Why are you questioning me?”

Castiel made a noise. “Sor- _ry_ ,” he said, emphasising the word a little. “I didn’t know that getting to know the person I’m stuck in an impossible situation with was going to be such a problem. My bad. I’ll shut up,” he muttered.

Dean sighed as he ran a hand over his face. “Look man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just… it’s personal and it’s hard to explain. Not many people understand,” he said quietly.

Castiel strained to see Dean in the little bit of light they had but from what he could see, the man looked genuinely sorry. He took a breath. “It’s okay. But you could have just told me it was personal and I would have backed off. You didn’t have to tell me you… were in town to visit your girlfriend,” he said, trying to gauge Dean’s response.

Dean smirked at that. “That was very slick,” he said, able to appreciate what Castiel was trying to do. “Feed me something false so I’ll admit the truth. Slick, like I said. But I don’t fall for things like that.”

Castiel chuckled. “Well it was worth the try, wasn’t it?” he asked, a smile on his face even though he was sure Dean wasn’t looking at him. “So fake, then? You weren’t in town visiting your girlfriend? Was it your boyfriend, then?”

“I ain’t got no one like that,” Dean said quietly. As long as they weren’t talking about his job, he was good.

“Well why not? Objectively, you’re very attractive.”

“You flirtin’ with me, Castiel?” Dean asked, his flirty, wolfish like, smile lost on him in the dark, though Castiel was sure he could hear a smirk in his voice.

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Calm down. I’m just making conversation. I can stop if you like,” he offered.

“No, no,” Dean laughed before he thought about how he would answer. He knew it skated close to his job but for some reason, Castiel made him want to talk, made him want to open up and tell the man things. That was something no one had ever done, not even his little brother who he cared for like his own son. “I move a lot,” he told quietly. He gave a moment before he spoke again. “Every Monday… I’m in a new state.”

Castiel listened, thinking on it. He figured whatever Dean did that was his business was probably what got him moving around so much. He briefly wondered if he did something illegal but Dean, while he may have looked the type… he didn’t have the personality type. “So you move around a lot. And you don’t have anywhere across the states where you have someone to… I don’t know… come home to? Make a home with?”

“It’s kinda hard to make a home with someone when you never go to the same place twice. Not if I don’t have to anyway. Not… not the things I do. You’re about my age, I’d say. You know as well as I… people aren’t looking for meaningless nights. One night and then pack up and go. They’re looking to settle down. To find someplace to hang their hat, my friend Bobby likes to say…” he trailed off as he thought about it. “Travelers don’t make for good bedfellows. Actually had a guy tell me that at a bar. Never thought I would hear that from a guy,” he chuckled.

“So you are into men,” Castiel said.

“Don’t really know. Know that I’ve been known to find someone attractive. Never been with one. Never had occasion,” he uttered softly.

Castiel thought about it. “So you’re Bisexual. Well that’s a whole world out there of people… that you could always _take_.”

Dean looked up, staring out into the dark at him like he’d said something he couldn’t understand. “Huh? What do you mean _take_?”

“I mean that you’re worried you won’t be able to find someone who wants someone leaving all the time. So find someone you won’t leave all the time. Take them with you. Find someone who wants to drive around with you. I mean, I know for a fact that if a handsome guy asked to whisk me away from a town like this where I’m still living with my parents after completing my college degree… I would say yes and I wouldn’t have even had to know him that long. Someone’s out there for everyone. I’m sure someone wants to go on the road with you.”

Dean thought about it long and hard. He’d never much given that a thought simply because of hunting. Because he was a wanderer. But Castiel had a point. Perhaps someone out there did want to come on the road with him… sit in the motel room and have pizza sitting on the table when he got back or helped him with research while he went out and hunted. He tried to imagine it and for a brief moment, it was Cas’ face he was seeing smiling at him when he walked through the motel room door and he had to calm himself right the hell down. Because he didn’t even know the other man but with them talking like this and Castiel saying he would gladly skip town, it was giving Dean’s brain all sorts of ideas to run with.

Dean cleared his throat. “This just got real heavy _real_ fast.”

“Mm. It did. Sorry about that. I just wanted to get to know you a little better. Wanted to know who I was spending my time with and all that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get you. So what about you? What were you doing in a bookstore on Christmas Eve? You didn’t want to spend it with your family?”

“Oh I did. I just drew the short stick when everyone was deciding who would be running the store on Christmas Eve. You see we keep it open every year whereas most places close early. Because if someone needs to get someone a last minute gift, as I told you, we are a one stop shop. So we get a lot of business when people are coming through and going to parties or to a loved one. But that stops at about seven thirty and we’re open until nine,” he said with a huff. “You think I would get out a little early but no. Not in my father's plans,” he said just a little bitterly.

Dean looked on in the dark. He tried to understand where Castiel was coming from, trying to remember back to a time when Christmas meant something to his family. Back when John didn't try to stop them from having something enjoyable. He tried to imagine having a family that wanted that. “I’m sorry, man,” he said to him. “And now you’re stuck here with me on the holidays.”

Castiel shrugged. “It’s okay,” he nodded. “This is the most exciting thing to happen to me in like a year so you know… it’ll make a good story one day,” he chuckled, smiling when he heard him laugh. “No family for you this year?”

Dean paused at that, his smile faltering. He thought of how to approach it, whether to push it away or address it but something about being in the dark with a stranger… it was definitely easier to talk. “Nah, my family isn’t big on the holidays. My dad and me… we work all year ‘round. And my little brother… well he’s… I don’t know, he’s been trying to follow me. He uh… had a few issues adjusting to his college and to college life and he’s been trying to get back into what me and my dad do… I told him to go back to school. He won’t listen,” he said.

“Well I’m sorry to hear that. Where’d he go to school that he wasn’t fitting in?” he asked.

“Stanford,” Dean answered instantly, a little pride in his voice.

“Wow. Stanford was one of the schools I looked at when I was going,” he whispered. “It’s a fantastic school.”

“He got a full ride,” Dean continued to brag.

Castiel smiled at the sound of pride in Dean's voice. “He sounds fantastically smart. I hope that whatever he does with his smarts or his talents… he’s happy. Whether that’s working with you and your dad or that’s going back to school. My family is big on school. But my big brother didn’t go. Not to the kind of school my family wanted. Instead he became a chef. And he’s so happy,” he smiled.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” Dean thought out loud. “As long as he’s happy.”

Castiel smiled, though he couldn’t help but think that he wished he could see him better. Dean was kind of illuminated but even with shining their lights at each other, it was quite hard to see. As he looked across, something dawned on him. “Oh my god! I completely forgot we have a soothing candle section. My dad is gonna kill me but come on. We can burn some of the candles,” he said as he stood and began to lead Dean across the store once more.

“Whoa, slow down there, killer. Remember I got no clue where I’m going and it’s like pitch black,” he reminded.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “Here,” Castiel muttered as he fumbled a moment before he put Dean’s hand into his.

Dean stiffened at the feel of Cas' hand. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Castiel rolled his eyes. “You literally just confirmed your bisexuality, you can’t tell me you have a problem with another man holding your hand. Besides, I'm not hitting on you, I'm leading you so you don't get lost or bump into something. Unless you'd rather bump into a wall or a bookshelf to save your man pride,” he said, offering him a choice.

Dean gave it a quick thought before he nodded, only then remembering they couldn’t see each other. “Lead the way,” he said to the shorter man, looking down at his silhouette in the dark.

Castiel led them down the store and through the shelves before he pulled out the candles and then the lighters they sold right there with it, fumbling the whole time but that was beside the point. When he lit the candle and got the chance to look up at the other, only then did he realize how close they were together. “Oh… uh… heh… sorry,” he stuttered.

Dean looked down at the way the candlelight bounced off his skin and illuminated him, made him look… beautiful, really. But he tried not to think too much on it. He smiled softly. “Uh… it’s okay, Cas, really.”

Castiel lifted an eyebrow at the sound of the nickname. “Cas?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “It’s easier to say than ‘Castiel’ every time.”

“If you’re lazy,” Castiel teased Dean, but really, he didn’t mind the nickname. It was better than the term of endearment ‘Cassie’ that his family had gifted him with. He hated that name and to this day, he was sure it was one of the reasons that they called him it.

Dean laughed softly, hearing the playful tone in Castiel's voice and seeing it on his face. “Nah, you like it,” he said.

“Don’t make me blow out the candle and make you walk back to the bedroom alone,” he muttered.

Dean smirked. “Oh? _Bedroom_?” he asked Cas. “Is this your way of telling me you wanna push the couches together and share a little warmth tonight?” he asked as he stepped just a tad closer to the man.

This. Dean could do this. It was hard to just talk about his life or even think about it really. But flirting? That was second nature to him. Sex was third, definitely. Dean could do this part. And he could probably even go so far as to follow through if Cas said yes.

Castiel put his hand on his chest. “Yeah, stop it right there, cowboy. I ain’t that easy.”

Dean laughed as they seemed to relax with each other after an awkward encounter and now that Dean had pants on, of course. “Cowboy?”

“Yeah, you blow into a town where I know everyone, walkin’ like you just hopped off a horse and carrying,” he said to him. “I equate that with a cowboy.”

“How…” Dean trailed off as he stiffened. “How did you know I was carrying?” he whispered.

Castiel grinned up at the other through his lashes. “Hm. Seems we’re both just as mysterious as we want to be,” he said as he began to walk back to where they’d come from, a few other candles in his arms.

Dean paused at that, making sure his gun was still in his leather where he’d put it before he noticed Castiel’s drifting light and he moved to keep up with him as not to get lost in the store. He wondered how Castiel could possibly know he was carrying but instead of asking again, he simply kept quiet.

Dean helped Castiel place the candles around the tiny space that they had. When they were close to finished, the section they'd created was much more illuminated and Dean couldn't help but smile a little. He licked his lips as he watched him bend over in search for the lighter he'd dropped. While Cas wasn't looking, he pushed his couch a bit closer to the other one. Oh he was going to see how far he could get this pretty stranger to go.

There was a pang of guilt as soon as the thought crossed his mind. That was new. He tried to think deeper on it. Tried to think harder as to why he would feel guilty for bedding a stranger. It was his normal routine.

 _Because he's different,_ he thought to himself. He looked over at the man once more, seeing him leaning over a candle to take in the smell. The way Castiel smiled had him smiling a bit fondly himself.

Oh Castiel was so different, he didn't realize how he didn't see it before. He didn't know why he was. He'd only just met the guy. He knew nothing about him. And yet… maybe it was his hunter mentality mixed in with his attraction to this man… while he was sure he wanted to see Castiel scream beneath him… all he wanted to do was protect him. Even from himself.

The feeling was so alien. He'd never felt like l that about anyone before. Never. So why this boy? Why this person that he'd only just met an hour ago? What was different about him? Was it those insanely blue eyes? The fact that he was a guy? Was it his smirk that Dean found really sexy? Or was it the most obvious; the fact that Castiel wasn't ready and eager to put out like everyone else he was attracted to?

“Earth to Dean!” Castiel finally yelled, having been talking about the scent of the candle for some time now and after getting no response, he'd looked up to see Dean staring off into space.

Dean jumped a little and looked toward Cas. “What? Uh, sorry,” he said to him. “Sorry. I was thinking about something.”

Castiel lifted an eyebrow curiously. “Care to share with the class what you were thinking about or is it one of those private things again?” He asked with a tilt of his head.

Dean chuckled. “I was just thinking we should lay down. Get some sleep,” he said.

“I just got the candles lit,” he pouted as he looked around. He sighed before he thought of something. “How about… a game instead?” he asked, though he was beginning to see his breath. He was going to need more layers soon.

Dean watched him and he licked his lips. “A game?” he questioned.

“Mhmm,” he nodded, watching the action too closely for his liking. He couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t have minded seeing what else that tongue could do...

Castiel had to say that he was a bit confused as to what was going on inside his head. He’d never been one to simply lust after someone. It wasn’t his style. He liked getting to know people, dating. He knew that Dean had said he was in a new town every Monday, and yet he found himself... _wanting_ the man in front of him.

He wondered why. He wondered why this… Dean had him questioning himself. Why this _Dean_ had him wondering what sex was like with someone like him. Who was probably experienced and wild and yet… on any other day, any other man he’d found attractive, he was more apt to wait than to do anything else. He’d only ever had one boyfriend and they’d never even gotten to the ‘having sex’ part because…

Castiel shook his as if shaking him out of his thoughts. “Yeah. I don’t know. Kind of like a truth or dare without the truth,” he smiled.

Dean gave Castiel a look as if wondering what he was truly getting at. This sounded an awful lot like getting to know each other beyond that of spending the night with one another. Beyond the point of shaking hands in the morning when they were rescued and telling this story to whoever would listen in the future. It sounded like more and Dean didn’t know how to truly be comfortable with it.

He was never big into sharing, Castiel had found that out earlier when he had tried to get to know him just a little. He couldn’t help but wonder why Cas wanted to get to know him. What was in it for him? What would he really gain from it? What would he benefit from getting to know a drifter that would be out of this town as soon as he could get out of this store?

“I mean…” Castiel started again, cutting through his thoughts. “It would probably be more fun with alcohol but you didn’t stumble into that kind of store.”

“What you guys carry everything else and you don’t have some cheap wine that goes with books and candles?” he asked with a sly grin, part of him trying to stall from this game that Castiel was proposing.

Castiel laughed softly and whacked him lightly. “Shut up,” he muttered playfully.

Dean grinned as he watched Cas laugh but it faltered a little. “Why do you want to get to know me?” he asked. “What’s the big deal about me?”

The man with the angel name hummed as he looked around with a shrug. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m itching to find out,” he grinned at him. “Look, I’m dying to know why you’re carrying a gun and you’re dying to know _how_ I know you’re carrying a gun. So… let’s play a game,” he prompted further.

Dean looked Cas over. He had to admit he was right. Castiel made him curious. In more ways than one. He had been to countless bars, been with enough women to make anyone balk. And how he was usually able to do it? How he’d been able to spend the night, sometimes a few, with a girl and then just pick up without getting attached? He got to know exactly none of them. Nothing but their names. Sometimes something kinkier but that was it. When it was over it was over.

With Cas? He had to admit he wanted to know things. He wanted to know stupid things like which one of his parents had the blue eyes. Was it both of them or just one? Normally he didn’t care. But he had to admit he wanted to know.

He looked over at him, watching as Castiel shivered. “You wanna play a game?” he queried. “Fine. I’ll play a game with you. If,” he began.

“Oh what is the if, cowboy? Why does there always have to be an if?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “I was going to say; I’ll play if you let me push the couches together and we share as many blankets as you can keep opening without getting in trouble with your parents and your store losing money.”

Castiel opened his mouth to inform Dean that he wouldn’t get in trouble. He had been about to tell him that his parents would care more about their well being than the fact that they kept opening blankets. It wouldn’t even come out of his pay check. And yet… he wondered if this wasn’t his chance. He could get close enough to see Dean, be able to tell if he was lying to him. He would be able to let Dean in close.

He paused and nodded. “That sounds fair,” he noted.

Dean nodded back at him before he pushed the couches together perfectly, creating quite an efficient little spot.

Castiel couldn't help but laugh as they both took their shoes off and climbed in. They stretched the blankets over each other and Castiel settled in as they sat opposite each other so that Dean's legs sat beside him and Castiel's sat beside Dean.

He laughed again and smiled fondly.

“What's funny?” Dean asked curiously, wondering what he did to make Castiel laugh or if Cas was laughing at him.

“This. My brother and I used to do this. My brother Gabriel and I are the closest in age and we used to take the two couches that were downstairs in my family's basement. We'd push them together and create a nest of blankets for ourselves. We'd get the TV going and we'd stay down there for hours. Days if it was the weekend or we didn't have to go to school,” he smiled softly. “They are good memories, that's all.”

Dean smiled at the way Castiel told his little tale. The way he stared off into space… it was something he shouldn't have found somewhat adorable. And yet…

Castiel looked up. “You see? I'm already baring my soul and I did it without asking. So it's your turn,” he said.

Dean nodded. “Alright, then. What do you want to know about Dean?” He asked.

“Why are you in town?” He asked immediately as if that was what he'd been thinking about for a while, and he had. Like he'd told the man before, the town was small enough that someone didn't come in that they didn't know.

“I was working a job,” Dean said simply but that was all he'd said. He didn't know Cas… he didn't need to bog him down with news of hunting.

“What kind of job?” Castiel asked.

“Uh-uh. Nice try,” Dean grinned. “That's two questions. One question per customer,” he offered.

Castiel sat back with a huff and a laugh. “Alright. Your turn. Ask away,” he said as he gestured to Dean with open arms.

Dean hummed to himself as he began to think what exactly he wanted to ask. “Alright, I got it,” he nodded. “Earlier you were talking to me about picking up and leaving if someone swooped you away. So what's that about? Don't you have someone you… I don't know… _belong_ to?”

Castiel scoffed. “First off, you talk like that and I can see why you don't have a girlfriend. People don't belong to other people,” he said but before Dean could cut in and tell him that hadn't been what he'd meant, Cas was speaking again. “And secondly, no. I don't,” he said but he stopped there, grinning.

“That's it. That's all you're going to give me?” Dean asked.

“Oh how does it feel, cowboy?” He mocked back at him, bumping Dean's thigh with his leg. “You gave me little to go on so I am returning the favor. Now. My turn. What do you do for work? And if you thought I wasn't going to circle back to that, you must be not be very bright,” he teased.

Dean grumbled at hiss words; question and statement. Of course this man was curious enough about Dean to want to know what he did for work. “I'm a… I'm a mechanic,” he said.

“Bullshit,” Castiel said right after.

Dean's face scrunched, defensive as he was caught in a lie. “Bullshit, what do you mean bullshit?”

“I mean that you're not a mechanic. You're lying to me, I call bullshit.”

“You barely know me. How can you possibly tell if I'm lying or not?” He questioned.

“Because when you were telling me about your brother earlier, you had so much pride and truth in your voice. I don't hear it this time around,” he said.

“Maybe I just don't like my job,” he offered him.

“Or you're just lying to me. Look, you come into my store telling me you're never in one place more than a week, your brother wants to join you, and you're carrying a gun… but you're a mechanic? Bullshit,” he ordered. “So the truth, please.”

Dean had to admit he was impressed on how well Cas had paid attention but he scoffed and spoke without thinking. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

Castiel looked at Dean. He wanted to ask. He wanted to know what him was talking about. Was Dean something bad? Why didn't he think he wouldn't believe him? Was he like some kind of spy?

“Alright. You can tell me later. It's your turn,” he said, letting him off the current hook.

Dean breathed in slight relief. “Alright, you wanna circle back, I'll do the same. Why don't you have anyone?”

Castiel chewed his lip as he thought about that slightly. “Well, I’m gay, for one. In a town like this, it’s hard to find another man that is out, let alone someone that would be willing to take the plunge of _admitting_ they might be interested in men. There was one,” he continued without really thinking too much about it. They wanted to get to know each other, right? “One guy that I met right out the gate at college. I didn’t go to college too far from here. And I thought we were so in love when we first got together. But something never felt right with him. Something was always off. He was always asking me for sex, always. Come to find out, I was not the only guy he was seeing. He was just trying to close the deal on this one, I guess. After that... “ he tapered off, before he shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose I was a little bit burned by everything. I stopped even looking at guys. I was too scared of getting hurt again.”

Dean let the silence that followed hang for a few moments. He didn’t know why but he felt his hand clench, he wanted to punch whatever dick had done that to Cas. He didn’t know if it was because Cas was something special to him, somehow, or if it was because the man made him feel what he usually did which was the desire to help people. But more so… he didn't like the thought of someone making like they loved Cas so much and then cheating on him, breaking his heart. He didn't know why… but he was at the brink of finding the guy.

“Cas… I’m sorry that happened to you,” he said softly. He thought, briefly, to reach for his hand but quickly decided that it could be weird.

Castiel smiled and shook his head. “I’m not telling you because I want you to feel sorry for me. Please. Don't. I'm fine. And not like when people say they're fine and they're really not,” he chuckled. “It hurt at the time but I'm genuinely okay,” he said. “I moved on. No, I haven't dated but I've also not really been asked by anyone I found interesting enough to say yes to,” he explained.

Dean nodded. For some reason, though, he was impressed by Castiel's honesty. Yes, that was what this ‘game’ had been about but still… it was hard for him to be honest. Then again honesty wasn't usually part of his daily description.

He looked back over at Cas, forgetting the game entirely for a moment. “So what happens when you decide you like someone? You gonna run away or face the music?”

Castiel made a noise, laughing. “Dean, it's not your turn to ask,” he said simply. “Fine. I'll answer. But then I get to ask two,” he nodded. “When I like someone, I feel like enough time has passed that I could definitely let loose, maybe even give up what people still think I'm holding on to. They just don't realize I've simply never had occasion,” he said, talking about his virginity and Dean seemed to understand. “And really. It depends on who it is. Are they a drifting cowboy that's gonna leave me after a night?” He grinned softly. “Or are they gonna take me with them?” He hummed and when Dean looked up, he laughed. “Metaphor, of course.”

Dean rolled his eyes, but he chuckled too. “Alright,” he said, snapping his fingers teasingly. “Two questions, hurry it up.”

Castiel smiled. “Quite an easy one. What's your last name?”

Dean looked up. “Uh…” he said as he debated for a moment. He didn't much give out his real last name. It was a whole thing. First names could be anyone but last names stuck. They held records. He thought about giving him a fake one but the level of honesty Cas had given him had him sighing. “Winchester. Dean Winchester.”

“Dean Winchester,” he said softly in repetition. “I like it. It's a strong name. Mine always brought jerks. Apparently the name Castiel isn't strong enough for some.”

“I think it's…” _beautiful_ ? Had Dean really just been about to call this stranger's name beautiful? This stranger that he was one hundred percent sure wasn't going to have sex with him tonight which was the _only_ time he ever told a girl he thought their name was beautiful.

Castiel couldn't help but smile, leaning forward a little. “You think it's… what?” He inquired, his eyes squinting in curiosity.

Dean was about to back track before he smirked. “Is that your next question?” He countered. “I thought you'd have something much better than that.”

Castiel glared at Dean,weighing his options. “Alright. Fine. I will circle back,” he warned.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, the candles burning down around them as they became comfortable with each other. Castiel didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard as Dean told him different stories of life on the road and Dean couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked with someone for so long. The whole thing was refreshing for both of them.

Castiel laughed at Dean when he hopped out of their nest, tripping and landing on the floor as he’d moved to get a different set of candles when the ones they had lit had burned a little too long for his liking. Dean was thoroughly impressed when Castiel told him that the reason he knew he had been carrying a gun was because Dean had so subtly checked for it when they first saw each other and Cas’ family had a history with guns though he’d never shot one.

As the night grew on, both of them had shifted to get into comfortable positions, even switching couches entirely at one point until they’d ended up pressed side by side next to each other, sharing body heat.

Their voices had turned into soft whispers, talking to each other like lovers without even really realizing it, their question game having just turned into a back and forth of asking each other things or comparing their lives, sometimes asking two or three questions at a time. But they were finding it so easy to talk to one another so neither seemed to mind.

At the moment, Dean was telling Castiel not only where the necklace he wore came from but how he and his brother were with each other and why it meant so much to him, and he couldn’t help but laugh as Castiel cooed at the conclusion of the story.

The blue eyed man reached out and touched the necklace as he spoke. “Wow. You and your brother really care for each other, don’t you?” he asked.

Dean chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. We really do. You have to understand that growing up, it was just me, my dad, and Sammy,” he informed. “So when my dad went out, he got really clingy to me. I don’t know, a four year difference, I kinda became like the dad he didn’t have when ours wasn’t around… I don’t know how to explain it…”

“You raised him,” Castiel clarified with a small smile, connecting the dots backwards to when Dean had told him what had happened to his mom.

“Yeah,” Dean hummed softly. “I kinda did…” he trailed off. He let the silence stretch before he shook his head a little and he looked at him again. “Okay, I have one for you I’ve been thinking about,” he put out. “Earlier you mentioned something about being with someone depending on if they would whisk you away… what’s the matter with your life the way it is? Sounds to me like you’ve got a loving family… so why would you want to be taken from that?”

Castiel smiled a bit hesitantly. “It’s a bit hard to explain,” he gave.

“Try me,” Dean countered.

Castiel sucked in a breath. “Well you see, my parents… they aren’t actually my parents,” he said. “I guess I’m adopted. I don’t know where I’m from. The way they tell it, my brothers Michael and Lucifer were practically carrying me, my brothers Gabriel and Samandriel, along with my sisters Hanael and Anael– I told you, that’s Hannah and Anna… they go by simpler names. Anyway… my parents found us sort of on the road and took us in… Michael and Lucifer were too much in shock to remember what had happened and the rest of us were too little. We were taken in,” he said before he sighed. “I don’t know. I feel ungrateful sometimes… But I don’t know if I love them like I’m supposed to. I love my siblings, for sure. But… this just all feels like it’s not where I’m supposed to be,” he sighed as he leaned his head on his hand before he looked down at the blanket, picking at the lint. “That probably doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, it does,” he said to Cas as he shook his head, touching his hand. “It make sense. Sometimes you just feel like there’s more, no matter where you are… who you’re with,” he trailed off.

Castiel looked up at the man when he did that, looking into green eyes. It was such a simple gesture that he tried not to read into it. He tried not to think he felt something. He tried not to think that there was something between them but it was pointless, he knew that he had some sort of feeling for this man. He couldn’t deny it when they’d just spent the better part of two hours learning about each other and drawing closer to one another.

“Dean?” he asked softly, almost hoping he would clarify what this meant with just the sound of his name. Was it something? Or was Castiel reading far too much into this night?

Dean licked his lips as thoughts ran through his head. Should he be doing this? When had they gotten so close to each of him.

“Yeah?” Dean asked, voice just as soft.

Castiel swallowed as he thought to ask Dean something to derail this, something that would allow him to forget all about the things that were bubbling to the surface. He could forget it all. He could ask Dean about his middle name, ask him about his father--hell, he could ask him about the last time he’d been with someone. _Anything_ that could turn him off from Dean right about now. But he was already sure nothing would.

So he went for it.

“Are you attracted to me?” he whispered.

Dean looked a little stricken from the question but probably because he was not used to being asked that question. Usually when Dean was attracted to someone, he wore it on his face and in his words with the way he flirted. But things were different with this one. “Cas,” he started. Maybe he could turn him down. Castiel… damn if he wasn’t the hottest thing he had ever seen and damn it if he didn’t know flat out that he was someone he could get hooked on. The kind of relationship his dad always told him never to have because it meant attachment. You couldn’t have attachment in this line of work.

He imagined coming back to this city every once in awhile just to see the raven haired beauty in front of him. He even thought of taking Cas on the road with him. But he knew both were pipe dreams. He couldn’t take him. Not without dragging him into the life he led, and that was if Cas even believed him which there was a good chance he wouldn’t. Then there was the thought of putting the man in danger and he knew he couldn’t ask that of anyone. He barely wanted to ask that of his brother.

“What?” Castiel asked, Dean having just sat there after saying his name.

Dean’s lips parted as he breathed, realizing he had to say something. What did he do in this situation? Tell Cas that even though they’d had a wonderful night of getting to know each other that this was the last time they were to see each other and move on? Was he supposed to go for it even though he knew that it would only be this night?

“Cas… I actually think I care about you so it’s probably not–”

“Shut up,” Castiel muttered.

Dean was about to say something when Cas grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him in, crashing their lips together. It was a little off kilter at first but Castiel righted it as he tilted his head and renewed their angle.

The hunter wanted to reciprocate. He wanted to grab him by the hips, dig his fingertips into the skin and simply _have_ Cas. He wanted to ravish the man kissing him and make him say his name over and over again. He was pretty sure it was what he had wanted all night long. That being said… he slowly pulled away from him, looking down into blue eyes.

“What?” Castiel panted slightly. “What? Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

Dean drank in the sight of Castiel's slightly puffed lips and lust blown eyes. He didn’t know how but even in the dimness of the light, he could tell that Castiel was looking at him with the most gorgeous pair of hungry eyes he’d ever seen. Damn how he wanted this man. He wanted to have Castiel right here, right now. But that was how most of his one night stands went. It was usually a good deal about what Dean wanted. He never really stopped to think what a partner wanted until the heat of the moment.

“Cas… of course you didn’t do anything wrong. You’re… god, you’re fucking gorgeous,” he huffed a laugh, Castiel blushing at Dean's words. “But I told you… I was on my way out of town when I just happened to hit a snowbank and I just happened to find your store. You… you know that as soon as the snow clears… I’m gone,” he said.

It nearly pained Dean to say that and he didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he could have true feelings for this guy… not in one night, right?

“Dean… I gotta be honest with you, and this is coming at a shock to me too… but I don’t care. All I know is that I’ve never wanted someone the way I want you. So you can leave tomorrow,” he muttered as he straddled Dean slowly. “You can leave and never call me… never think of me,” he whispered as he put his hands on his shoulder, liking the way Dean’s breath hitched when he climbed onto him. He grinned. “You can have tomorrow to do whatever you want. But how about you give me tonight?” he whispered as he leaned down and brushed their lips together ever so slightly.

Dean would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised right now. He would be lying if he said his mind wasn’t so completely blown by the fact that Castiel was in his lap trying to seduce him. “What–” he cut himself off, clearing his throat as his voice went way too high. “What happened to being shy and kind of withdrawn?” he whispered, remembering Cas telling him that was always how he’d been.

Castiel smirked. “I guess you just bring something out in me,” he whispered before he was kissing Dean again.

This time, Dean didn’t hesitate. He kissed Cas back with a vigor as his eyes squeezed shut from the pure enjoyment of this feeling. God, Castiel’s lips were the best he’d ever felt. He didn’t know what that taste was, if it was just his lips or what, but it was intoxicating. Better than any whiskey he had ever had and he longed for more. He only pressed deeper into the kiss, trying to fill a yearning for Cas even though he had him.

Castiel made a small noise in the back of his throat as he leaned into Dean, one hand going in his hair as they kissed, relishing in the silky smooth way it felt between his fingers; just like he’d imagined it all night. His body moved into Dean’s without him really realizing as he just tried to get closer and closer but he was beginning to realize there wasn’t much closer.

Dean brought his hand up to run his own through Cas' hair as he dragged him in as close as he could, deepening the kiss as he parted his lips. He felt their bodies fit together and it was like fitting one puzzle piece to another.

At that moment, as Castiel situated himself to accommodate Dean's movement of them, he felt his own erection brush against Dean’s even in the position they were in and they moaned together, tasting each other's breath on their lips.

The kiss turned hot and heavy as their tongues collided and pressed together. It had been so long for Castiel since he’d done something like this, he’d nearly forgotten how it felt. He’d nearly forgotten the way arousal thrummed throughout one's entire body, the way it felt for it to sit at the small of his back as he slowly began to strain against his jeans. He’d never known entirely the way someone else could make you so hot, make you want something you didn’t even know you wanted before this second. Dean did that to him and he wasn’t sure how long he could remain hotly squished into these clothes.

Now this was a first for Dean. He’d never kissed a man before. He’d never been with a man. He was sure that the first time it came up, the first time he tried, he would be terrified. But he wasn’t. He was amped up and ready but quite the opposite of terrified.

When their heated kiss broke, it was when Dean moved from his lips, down the column of his throat and Castiel moaned at the feeling, panting a little as Dean left kisses before he was sucking at the skin, so clearly leaving Castiel something to remember him by.

Castiel gripped him tightly as he lifted his head to give the other a bit more room to do what he wanted with him. “Mm… Dean…” he whispered. His fingers dug into Dean’s shoulders and he longed to look into a mirror to see exactly what that mark looked like.

“Keep saying my name like that and this is going to be over long before it starts, angel,” Dean muttered against his skin.

Castiel let out a breathy chuckle. “A-angel?” he asked. He felt Dean’s hands going up his thighs before beginning to roam all over him and he had to admit, it had his whole body alive and tingling. His entire being was on the edge of his seat, feeling like he was a live wire at the way Dean caressed him.

“Mm. Yeah. You said you were named after an angel,” he whispered as his fingers began to go up his shirt as he smirked against his skin. “And the way you feel, you’re either an angel or a demon,” he breathed.

“You really are a smooth talker,” he giggled.

Dean grinned, suddenly moving them and hearing Castiel squeak as he laid him down, finding his lips once more as he pressed Cas beneath him; something he’d envisioned all evening.

Castiel groaned as his legs fell open, pulling Dean between them or trying to anyway. He gave a sound of protest when the green eyed man pulled back, hearing a chuckle come from Dean.

“Calm down, angel,” Dean whispered as he kneeled up and took his own layers off, getting down to nothing soon enough before he was reaching for Castiel’s.

Castiel swallowed, feeling like he might drool at the sight of Dean. He could tell in the dark that Dean was lean and musclebound but this… oh god, Dean had a six pack. He could tell he had that V that led right down to the bit he most wanted tonight. His whole body was gorgeous and worthy of Adonis status.

“Wow,” he breathed as he let Dean take his shirt off.

“You’re saying wow to me? Look at you. Look at this body,” he whispered against his skin as Dean ran his lips down his chest in a way that was too delicious to describe, every feeling he had right now running straight down to his groin.

Castiel tilted his head back with a breathy moan on his lips as he felt the way Dean’s stubble ran over his flesh. If he had known that something like that had felt that good, he would have asked Dean to do this dance hours ago.

As Dean was pulled back to Cas' lips, their bodies moving and grinding together, Dean wrapped the blankets around them, despite the way the sweat was beginning to bead off them. It was still cold and the last thing he wanted to do was let Cas freeze.

He wanted to do with Cas what he did to every other girl he’d been with; he just wanted him already. And yet, the way they’d sat there with each other and learned each other’s entire life stories, the way they’d talked to each other, they way they’d consoled each other when they got to the bad parts, laughed when they got to the funny ones… this hardly felt like the time for rough sex.

Castiel had been so caught up in kissing Dean, his head light and fuzzy from the lack of sufficient oxygen that he didn’t even know they’d moved forward rather quickly until he’d felt himself lift his own hips in order for Dean to get off his pants and boxers in one fell swoop.

He gasped again softly as he felt Dean press his legs open at the same time he kissed him and when Dean settled in, he felt their erections brush together once more but this time it was without the restrictions of clothes and it felt more amazing.

Dean watched Castiel’s jaw go slack when he slowly began to grind their hips together, giving the other man a taste of what his hips would be doing when he took him, had him right there beneath him.

He let his lips wander over his body, feeling the way the heat was pouring off the both of them. He leaned down and slowly lapped his tongue over the Castiel’s nipple, ginning at the way Cas threw his head back in what seemed to be pleasure.

“You sensitive here, angel?” he whispered before he was sucking the bud into his mouth.

Castiel moaned as his own hand came up and ran through his hair. He bit his lip as he tried not to make so much noise at such a small action. They were just getting started and he didn’t want to seem like he was overzealous.

Dean pinched his chin between his fingers and brought Castiel’s lips to his. “Uh-uh, angel,” he whispered as he kissed him, running his tongue over his lip. “I want to hear you. Every. Little. Sound,” he whispered, punctuating each one with a kiss.

Dean smiled as Castiel chased his lips. He couldn’t believe he was about to take this guy's virginity. He couldn’t believe Castiel looked this hot underneath him and he’d never had sex before. It almost seemed criminal that he was the only one who’d ever seen his beauty. And yet he felt the need to covet him.

He brought his hand up to his mouth. “Lick,” he whispered. He had lube… but of course that lube was in his car so this was going to have to do. He’d seen this in plenty of porn so he was sure this was the right thing to do and based off the look Castiel was giving him, he was sure he got something right.

Castiel took Dean’s fingers into his mouth and licking them with enthusiasm, wishing it was Dean’s cock instead but elder must have known that if he didn’t have Castiel now, he would probably come prematurely with how green he was.

Dean made a noise at the feeling. “Dammit, Cas,” he panted, his speech slightly slurred and broken from the adrenaline and lust that was pumping through his veins, making him feel drunk off Castiel. He wanted to take his time, kiss every single part of the man below him… there was plenty of night left ahead of them and there was always round two. “You’re so fucking hot,” he breathed.

Before long, Dean deemed his fingers wet enough and he slipped them from his new lover's mouth, kissing his plump lips before he was moving to Cas' entrance. “Alright, angel. You just need to relax, I hear.”

Castiel let out a chuckle. “Dean, I’ve been gay longer than you’ve known you were interested in guys, I’m guessing. Maybe I’m a virgin but it’s not like I’ve never blown off a little steam. Just prep me. I’ll be fine. Promise,” he whispered.  

Dean blanked for only a moment as he imagined Cas laying in some bed, fingers buried inside him as he touched himself; no particular name on the edge of his lips but his moans loud and beautiful no matter.

It was Dean’s turn to bite his lip before he was moving his hand again, moving down between Castiel's legs and circling his entrance and slicking him up. He pressed forward lightly, slowly pushing a finger into his new lover. He winced prematurely as he half expected Cas to yell, give a shout of pain, something to that effect. Instead, he was met with a whimpering moan from him.

“Dean…” he let out in a sigh.

Dean wet his lips as his mouth began to run dry from watching the man beneath him. He didn’t know anyone could be as beautiful as Castiel looked right now; spread open for him as the candlelight danced across his skin. If he had his phone in reaching distance, he would have taken a picture of the sight.

As Dean began to open him up with his fingers, Castiel’s whole body squirmed. There was a slight sting to begin with, don’t get him wrong, but the pleasure far outweighed anything else. Dean’s fingers were long and thick and the feeling of them sliding in and out of him, it was heaven sent. He laid there, his body shifting down onto his fingers the whole time. He moaned and cried and simply got lost in the feeling. He didn’t know when Dean had three fingers in him but what he did know was that it never felt like this when he did it alone.

The entire time Dean was prepping him, he watched Cas with intent. He didn’t take his eyes off him, not once as Castiel moaned his name and let out the best sounds he’d ever heard. They were delicious and before long he was leaning down and giving him heated kisses to give his mouth something to do.

“Oh, Dean…” he whined, his head pressing back into the cushion of the couches. “Dean,” he choked out as he wriggled and writhed for the man above him.

“Fuck you’re so hot, Cas,” he whispered against his lips. “Tell me you’re ready, angel. Please tell me you’re ready.

Castiel nodded. “Please. Need you,” he whispered as he grabbed for him but as soon as he’d finished speaking, Dean was slowly pulling out of him and reaching for his leather.

The hunter pulled out a condom, something he always kept with him, savagely opening it with his teeth as he rushed to pull it on. He rolled it on with speed before he moved back to Castiel. He leaned down and kissed Cas softly before he was positioning himself at his entrance and slowly pushing in.

The pair let out a matching set of groans, Castiel gripping Dean’s body the whole time as his trembled. “Dean…” he groaned.

When Dean bottomed out, fully sheathed inside Cas, he held himself up by his elbows, watching the man. “Fuck you feel so good, angel,” he whispered against his throat.

Castiel swallowed hard as he got used to the girth of Dean’s member inside him. He babbled a response, hearing Dean chuckle but he didn’t much know what at. Soon, the sting that had come with being pushed open was gone and all he could feel was Dean.

He looked up, feeling Dean remain still and his mind cleared only for a moment from what they were doing to focusing back on who he was doing it with. Dean claimed to be some hardass, womanizing, jerk. But Dean was being so soft with him, so careful. He didn’t want to hurt him. Briefly, he wondered if Dean had ever been like that with anyone else, though he quickly decided to pretend he was the only one.

Castiel reached up and pressed their lips together, it occurring to Cas that Dean was waiting for the go-ahead to be able to move. “Move, Dean,” he whispered, his breath shaky.

Dean nodded as Castiel told him it was okay. He gently lifted Castiel’s legs up to give him a better angle before slowly pulled out then pushed back in.

Castiel moaned at the feeling, as Dean set a pace that was agonizingly slow. It wasn’t that it didn’t feel good, no. It felt so damn amazing feeling the slow drag of Dean’s cock nearly coming out of him only to push back in again. It had him reeling, moaning, and gripping at Dean's back hard enough that he was sure he would have scratch marks.

Dean felt like he was in heaven. Castiel was this hot, wet, _tight_ enigma that only dragged him back in as he pulled out and soon, he couldn’t help himself as his pace grew faster and faster. He couldn’t keep the moans at bay as he was soon fucking into him, listening to Castiel beneath him.

Castiel didn’t know his voice went so high until that night, hearing himself squeak and moan as Dean moved into him. “Dean…” he whined. “Oh fuck, Dean… _fuck_ \--ah! Oh god, Dean, don’t stop…” he practically sobbed. It felt so good that Castiel was sure that if anyone heard them, they would know instantly that Castiel was having the best sex of his life, even if it was his first.

“Fuck you’re so god damned beautiful. Look at you, mm… I can’t wait to see you come for me, Cas,” he whispered hotly into his ear as he nipped at his earlobe.

Castiel let out another string of moans as he felt Dean pin his arms above his head, his body arching as well. He didn’t know if he could handle the pleasure for much longer. He could feel the pre-come leaking against his stomach as Dean had him right there.

“Dean,” he groaned. “I can’t… oh fuck!” he whined, his panting filling the space between them and making them both so much hotter than either could have anticipated.

“You feel so good. I could fuck you forever,” he whispered. “Mm. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? If I just kept right on fucking you forever, angel?” he breathed into his ear.

Castiel whimpered at Dean's words because, honestly, that sounded like heaven. Now, as Dean pounded into him, he could feel the slap of their skin as well as Dean pressing into a spot that had his eyes rolling back into his head. “Dean!” he screamed.

The way Castiel’s sound had him reacting and the way he clenched around him, Dean was nearly lost. He let loose his own whimper before he was reaching down to jerk Cas off in time with his thrusts.

That was too much for Castiel. He couldn’t take it and all at once he threw his head back, his whole body stiffening as he came over Dean’s hand with a loud shout of his name. His whole orgasm came out of him like a punch that he’d not even seen coming.

“Fuck,” Dean let out as he continued to fuck into Cas, seeking his edge. “Cas…” he muttered off hand as he felt his own orgasm hit and his body shook, letting go of Cas' cock in favor of gripping the couch on either side of them as he came hard into him.

He barely registered as he practically collapsed onto Castiel, his whole body feeling tired and spent. First he’d trekked in the snow to get to this place, he hadn’t been to sleep in he didn’t know how long, and then this… which felt like a marathon where Castiel was concerned because his mind had been running after him since he met him.

“Wow…” Castiel breathed, delighting in the feeling of Dean pleasantly weighted on top of him. He supposed he should have felt like he was being crushed but it was quite nice to feel another body on his. He wrapped his arms around Dean, feeling them stick slightly from the sweat but for some reason… he found it all enjoyable.

Dean couldn’t help but laugh softly. “I’m glad I could give you your first wow, angel,” he panted.

Castiel laughed as well. “I’m glad my first was a wow,” he teased. “But don’t go getting cocky. Just because the first time was a wow, doesn’t mean the second time will be a wow.”

“There’s going to be a second time?” Dean grinned as he lifted himself up on shaky arms to look down at Cas.

Castiel grinned back at him. “It’s possible,” he whispered as he leaned up and kissed Dean softly.

After a lazy make out session and wiping each other off with one particular blanket before throwing it aside along with the condom, Castiel tucked himself under his arm and laid his head on Dean’s chest.

The hunter smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he held him to his body, his fingers absentmindedly going up and down his skin, taking the time to memorize how soft his skin really was.

“Hey Dean?” Castiel asked after a while.

“Mm, yeah, angel?” he whispered, his lips resting against his forehead.

Castiel sucked in a breath. “Now you wanna tell me what it is you do for work? I figure if you’re going to pick up and leave and I’ll never see you again… You could tell me. I won’t tell anyone else.”

Dean paused his movements before he let out a chuckle. “Is that what you just did? Seduce me into submission so that I can fuel your curiosity?”

Castiel's eyes widened. “Oh, Dean, god no–”

Dean laughed again. “Calm down, angel. I'm joking with you,” he muttered as he leaned in and brought his lips to his own. He felt Cas relax against the kiss and he pulled back to look down into blue eyes. “You really want to know what I do?” He whispered.

Dean couldn't believe he was asking Castiel that. He couldn't believe he was even considering telling him the truth. But Castiel knew just about everything else about him. He knew his Daddy issues, his Mommy issues, why not know about everything in between? Maybe if Castiel called him crazy, told him he was psycho like everyone else did… it would be easier to part ways in the morning.

Castiel nodded. “I do, Dean. You're a mysterious cowboy that rode into town and now I have to know everything about you,” he grinned as he played with his hair.

Dean laughed as he moved so that he was hovering over the man. “I sat and told you basically everything that makes me me… and we had sex. How much more can you know about me until you run screaming?” He grinned down at him, kissing him softly.

Castiel grinned back. “You really think anything you tell me could make me run now?” He asked him. “After you've seen me like no one else has? Not to get mushy on you,” he said.

Dean chuckled softly as he looked down at Cas, looking into true blue eyes. Castiel had been honest with him the whole night. Didn't he owe him the same?

He'd never felt like that before. He taught his brother to lie and steal properly because it was what they did. He learned from his father. But he'd never felt obligated to be honest with anyone. What made Castiel so special?

“You'll think I'm nuts. And I'm actually enjoying the afterglow. I don't know that I'm ready for you to scream at me yet. Scream for me, yes,” he grinned.

Castiel swatted him playfully. “Stop it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I promise I won't yell at you. I won't think you're crazy.”

“I'm a hunter,” Dean said all at once, no real thought more behind it other than Cas deserved honesty.

Castiel tilted his head as he tried to piece together what that meant, though he wasn't exactly sure how that was Dean's job. “You're a hunter?” He asked slowly before a lightbulb went off. “Like a bounty hunter?” He asked, knowing that would explain the gun.

 _I wish,_ Dean thought to himself. That would have been so much easier to explain to the other.

He licked his lips as he slowly sat up, watching as Castiel sat up with him. He breathed. “Cas… when I say a hunter… it means that I hunt… _things…_ I hunt things down that hurt people…” he said, treading carefully. This wasn’t the first time he’d given someone the talk. But it was the first time he’d given someone the talk that he cared about.

Castiel nodded as he tried to sort it out in his head. “So… you hunt… things like wolves? Like bears?”

“No–”

“Well then I don’t understand. If you don’t hunt animals, what do you mean by things–-”

“Dammit, Cas,” he muttered softly as he sighed, not really meaning any malice toward him. “Monsters. I hunt monsters,” he said as he waited for Cas' initial reaction but as Castiel sat there, seemingly frozen, he continued. “Think of every storybook monster you’ve ever heard of. Witches that eat people, werewolves, vampires, wendigo’s, demons– all of it is real. And they hurt people. They hurt innocent people. So my family… we go across the country and we save them. We find the monster and we kill it so no more people have to die… because if we don’t do it, no one will,” he offered.

Castiel had to admit that he was a bit taken aback by Dean's words. Monsters? Dean thought he was hunting down monsters? And clearly not just hunting… he thought he was _killing_ them. He was very sure that that wasn’t normal by any means of the word. Was Dean actually out there killing people with delusions that they were these monsters? Did Dean really do stuff like that? Or was this some elaborate story for this man to tell him he was truly a serial killer?

Perhaps Dean was right. Maybe he did think Dean psychotic.

He looked up at Dean, readying to tell him that he needed help when he saw the pleading in Dean’s eyes. He could see that Dean was practically begging him to believe him. He needed Castiel to believe him.

He thought about how they had talked all night. He thought back to when he had called Dean out on lying to him. He remembered the honesty and the truthfulness behind Dean’s words all night. He replayed what Dean had just said to him… and he couldn’t find an ounce of a lie anywhere. Whether Dean was telling the truth or simply _believed_ he was telling the truth… was beyond Castiel.

Castiel swallowed. “I’ve… I’ve always believed in another world. A world that most can’t see. I believed that there was magic and a whole lot of good versus evil going on in the world… but I never imagined someone would come along and tell me it was true…” he breathed, working through it out loud as if to tell Dean that he wasn’t going to yell just as he said.

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn’t possibly _begin_ to understand why it meant so much to him for Castiel to believe him. He’d had people possessed and haunted and still they didn’t believe him. Still they couldn’t comprehend that there was more to life than what they knew and it wasn’t all rainbows and gumdrops.

“Cas–” he started.

“Just,” he muttered, holding up a hand. “Just give me a moment.”

Castiel sat there in quiet contemplation for a long time, thinking it over… and over… and over again before he reached a decision on what he would do. On who he would call and how fast he could get away from Dean. He calculated every possible escape from the couches and to a room he could lock himself into. He thought about how he could grab his gun on the way, hold him off until morning… and he remained sitting there.

“Okay,” he said after a while.

Dean blinked at Cas. “Okay?” he questioned, not quite sure he understood what he was saying just yet. “Okay what?”

“Okay. I believe you, Dean.”

“You do?” he asked, boggled. “I just told you the stuff of nightmares was a real living, breathing, thing that could knock on any door including your own and all you say is ‘okay?’” he asked. He briefly wondered if it was Castiel that needed the head check.

Castiel scoffed. “Well what do you want me to say, Dean?”

Dean let out a humorless chuckle as he ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Call me crazy. Tell me I’m psychotic. Threaten to commit me or call the police–” he cut himself off after a moment. Maybe he shouldn’t have been giving Cas ideas.

Castiel sucked in a breath. “Dean,” he said softly. “I listened to you tell me stories all night. I listened to you tell me how you carried your brother out of a fire when you were little. I listened to how you skipped your prom because you were working– you told me about how there’s a guy named Bobby that is more like a father to you than your real father has ever been. I listened to you tell me the _truth_ … all night,” he whispered. “You lied to me once. And I picked up on it,” he pointed out before he shook his head. “You weren’t lying to me on this. I can tell. I don’t know yet if you’re actually hunting monsters or if you just believe you are… but I think it’s the former… and I believe you…”

Dean swallowed. This wasn’t supposed to get him choked up, right? No. That sounded like something pansy’s did. Someone with way too much invested in another person would have gotten choked up to hear that they believed them. Dean didn’t have those kinds of attachments and he definitely didn’t care whether someone believed him or not. He knew what the truth was. He knew and that was all that truly mattered.

And yet… having Castiel tell him he believed him was like some kind of music to his ears. It was very rare that someone believed them about what they did. It was downright unheard of that someone believed them without solid evidence in front of them. But Castiel, the boy he’d gotten snowed in with… he believed him just because he heard truth in his voice. Was that real?

“Castiel… you are something else,” he whispered as he pulled him in and kissed him downright _lovingly_. Something he’d never done before.

Castiel made a noise at the sudden, deep, kiss. “Mm, Dean,” he breathed. “As long as you don’t try to kill me, we are good,” he smiled at him.

The rest of the night was filled with a lot of talking, just as the start of the night had been. Castiel had more questions for Dean than even he thought possible. He wondered how Dean had even started this ‘profession’ and he asked as such. He was solemn when Dean recounted what had happened to his mother only this time with a demon at the helm, murdering his mother.

He asked him about ghosts, vampires, werewolves– he’d even learned that ghouls were a thing and it was disturbing to know that the only way to kill them was with a head shot.

He smiled as Dean told him story after story, seeming like the more he talked about his life on the road, the life he wasn’t allowed to share with anyone… the lighter he became. Soon he was telling him everything whether Castiel asked or not.

It was refreshing. He could tell that while the man next to him had been honest with him earlier, Dean had so clearly been holding back from telling him everything, telling him everything about him; the whole story. Now he seemed unstoppable. It was like there was a weight lifted off his shoulders and Castiel couldn’t have been happier that he was the one to lift it. Whether or not Dean was leaving tomorrow… he wasn’t just some lay to Dean. Clearly, he mattered.

Part of him still had trouble believing what he was hearing. More than once he had smiled to himself and thought how amazing of a storyteller Dean was. But only then it would occur to him that Dean may be recounting a tale to him, but the man was no story teller. He was telling him the truth.

Dean showed him videos, showed him pictures, showed him shots of what he called ‘lore books’. At first, he wondered if maybe Dean had just gone to extraordinary lengths to make the story believable. But once again… he had a hard time not believing, not accepting, when Dean’s remained so true in sound.

Dean had been telling him a story of a tulpa, he believed Dean had called it. He was telling him all about how many people had to fully believe there was some kind of spirit or monster and with the right kind of symbol, the right kind of magic; it brought the thing to life. He was in the middle of telling him all about how something like an actual Freddy Kruger had shown up in one of the towns he went to just because a bunch of babysitters thought it funny to scare the children.

Dean was about to tell Cas how the symbol tied into it all when he looked over to see him asleep in his arms. His story tapered off as he watched the man with the angel name. It was clear that Castiel had fallen asleep to him talking and he didn’t know whether to be offended that his story must not have been exciting enough… or flattered that his own voice was enough to lull Cas into sleep.

He paused, watching Castiel for a moment before he leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “Goodnight, Cas,” he whispered before he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

  


When help came in the morning, it was– predictably– a mad scramble. Castiel had shaken Dean awake and told him to get dressed because his parents and family were on their way into the store whilst he pulled his own clothes on.

Dean had barely registered Cas' words but he had managed to pull himself up out of the nest they’d built with the couches before he was getting dressed. Usually Dean didn’t function before coffee and at least one piece of greasy food down his gullet.

The store in the day, in the light, looked much different than it had the night before. It felt less like a maze of book stacks and more like a regular old store. One that had charm and Dean was sure he would remember for a long time. He’d, somehow, been able to make good memories in the store. He smirked to himself when he realized he would be able to tell his brother that he’d had fun in a bookstore and he’d not had to read a single word.

Castiel, once dressed, only had enough time to look over to Dean. He had wanted to talk to the hunter about the night before, tell him he didn’t regret it. Maybe even tell him if he ever wanted to come back, he would probably still be there. He took too long, debating whether or not he should give Dean his phone number and before he knew it, his family was swarming him, asking about his well being and if he was hungry. Castiel assured them that everything was fine but soon he was being dragged from Dean all together and outside toward a paramedic and he pulled, telling them he was fine but they insisted.

It felt like a long time, the back of the ambulance pointed at the store, before Dean seemed to collect everything that was his and begin to leave the store. He could see that Dean was on the phone and he wondered if it was the little brother Castiel had heard so much about. He wondered if Dean was being worried about like no one ever worried about him before.

There was confusion in his heart as he watched him. He knew Dean would be leaving. He knew the man wasn’t even planning on staying the night in their small town. The only reason he did was because of force.

He thought about everything Dean had told him the night before. He thought about all the monsters that were out there and that Dean was fighting them essentially alone. Sure, he had his brother… and Dean said that his father helped sometimes… but yet it still felt like the man was alone.

So much was going through his head as he watched him, he wasn’t even sure he was making a coherent thought. But he knew every thought ended on the same note: Dean. He watched as the man looked all around before he shoved his hands into his jean pockets and headed toward the street.

Castiel had been letting his family fuss over him, letting them go on and on about how they were so sorry about not closing the store and making him work. Frankly, Castiel couldn’t have cared. It wasn’t the first time one of them had gotten caught in the store and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. Castiel just got stuck the longest and with someone.

But when he caught Dean heading for the street, he couldn’t have cared less what his family was saying to him. He sprang from the ambulance, not paying attention to them yelling after him.

“Dean!” he called, catching up to him. “Dean,” he said as he got to his side.

Dean looked up, having just gotten off the phone with his brother, telling him to sit tight and that he would be swinging by to get him in a few hours. He’d been laser focused on getting back to his car and making sure that it was okay, putting this town in his rear view… that he was surprised when Castiel came running up behind him.

“Oh. Hey, Cas,” he said softly.

Castiel looked up into green eyes longingly before his own flicked down to Dean’s lips and then back again. He stepped forward and kissed Dean softly, hoping he would reciprocate.

Dean made a weak noise as he wrapped around Cas, not caring who saw them as Castiel didn’t seem to either. He needed this. He needed one last moment with the guy that he was sure was the guy of his dreams.

When they broke away, it was for air, Castiel’s hands at Dean's cheeks. “It’s pointless… if I ask you to stay, isn’t it?” he whispered, his voice a little broken.

He didn’t know why he was asking. He already knew the answer. Dean had told him exactly what was going on and where this was heading as soon as Castiel kissed him. And really? He never meant to get so hung up on Dean that he wanted to keep him around. But maybe, Castiel realized, those were his feelings all along. Their instant connection and undeniable passion… made Dean perfect for him. And here he was… leaving.

Dean smiled softly as he pressed their foreheads together. “Not pointless,” he said to him, his voice so gentle it was like a caress as his hands settled around his hips. He gazed into pretty blue eyes. True blue. Oh what he wouldn’t give to see those eyes every day. What he wouldn’t give to simply see those eyes again.

He wanted to say yes to Cas. He wanted to tell him that he would stay and that they could give whatever this was between them a fair shake. He wanted to be able to wake up next to those pretty blue eyes once more. But he knew the risks. He knew he couldn’t stay. He was Dean Winchester. And as much as he was a hunter… he was also hunted.

He swallowed as he pulled the shorter man in tighter, his fingers digging into Castiel’s hips a little. “But I can’t stay, Cas,” he whispered. “If it was just me… it would be a different story. But I got a brother I gotta take care of. Not to mention I’m no good for you. You need to find someone who can stay, who can be good to you, who isn’t in the kind of life I am. It’s dangerous just to be around me… something could come after you.”

“So then teach me how to defend myself, Dean, I don’t care about any of that–”

“I know you don’t, angel,” he said softly, smiling a little. “And you’ve got no idea how much it meant to me to be able to have last night with you. And you know it’s important if I’m standing here having a chick-flick moment with you while your family and the city rescuers stand by and watch me kiss you, wondering what the hell is going on because last they checked you got stuck in there with a stranger,” he offered, grinning wider when Cas laughed. “Last night meant a lot. You gave me something no one has ever given me before. And you believed me. That means more than you know,” he said as he pulled away a little, taking his hands. “You’re gorgeous. And I could grow to care about you more than I want to admit. And that’s dangerous in my line of work.”

Castiel swallowed as he listened to Dean turn him down. He looked down to the ground, knowing that wasn’t truly what this was but it sure as hell felt like it. He knew that Dean was only for a night, he knew that once the morning came… the hunter would be gone. He didn’t know what he expected. Maybe he would mean so much to the other in a short amount of time that Dean would stay? He didn’t know.

“I’m never going to see you again… am I?” he questioned.

Dean smiled a little sadly before he pinched his chin between his thumb and his finger, guiding Castiel’s eyes up to his own. “Never say never,” he whispered. “But we’ll always have Christmas night, yeah?” he asked.

Castiel nodded and smiled just as sadly back at Dean before he leaned up and kissed Dean softly, breaking it off before he could get too far with it. “Goodbye, Dean… and… I’m glad you’re out there keeping the world safe,” he said.

Dean smiled at him but all he offered was a squeeze of his hand. “Goodbye… angel,” he said in return before he was turning away from Cas and walking down the road towards where he’d left his car the night before.

As he walked down the street, he tried hard not to look back at Castiel, too afraid that he might stay if he looked back. He knew one thing was for sure, he’d never forget Christmas night.

Castiel went back to his family, not even registering their questions about the mystery man that he'd been kissing. He didn’t answer any of them. He just said… he wanted to go home.

  


Two weeks had passed when Castiel went back to the store. At first it had been just getting a break from the store all together. After getting locked into somewhere with no electricity, heat, and no way out… you become a little reluctant to be back there and especially by yourself again. But after telling Gabriel what had happened, after talking to someone, he’d determined that it wasn’t so much the fear of being stranded once more… it was facing the place where he’d had one night with Dean.

It sounded silly even to him. One night. It wasn’t enough to fall for a guy. And yet… Castiel felt like he’d fallen for him head over heels. He didn’t know how that was possible and yet… it seemed to be the only thing running through his mind.

Nevertheless, as the new year kicked off, Castiel went back to the store, determined that the memory of Dean would be good, however short lived.

Unfortunately for him, remembering Dean for him… it was more than just a night of sex and a lot of talking to a guy he would have liked to see again. It was so much more than that to him. It was a doorway to a whole new world he'd known nothing about before that night and now that Dean had told him about it and gone… he had such a hard time forgetting.

And so he did what Dean had told him he and his family did in order to find the cases they did. He told him about his friend Bobby that sometimes put them on the case but more so they found their own. They found odd happenings in papers and on the internet and they followed leads. He didn't remember why that stood out to him in the midst of everything that had happened that night but it had and he couldn't let it go when things like that were cropping up so close to home.

He got the vibe that if Dean knew what he'd been doing, he would have been mad at him. He didn't know why but he was sure the hunter would have had some chastising to do if he knew Castiel was looking for danger, searching it out. Perhaps it had something to do with how dangerous Dean had told him it was. But he was obsessive like that.

Dean, however… was miserable. He’d not stopped thinking about Castiel since the moment they parted. The entire way to getting Sam and their entire way to their next job, which was clear across the country, all he thought about was the man with the beautiful blue eyes that he'd only had a night with.

He thought that getting into a case, getting his mind off Cas… it would help. He’d even gone to a bar. What better way than to forget about someone than to be with someone else? But no matter how he tried… he couldn’t even flirt right. It felt… wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it. It almost felt like no guy or girl… would measure up to one night with Cas even if he spent five nights with them.

It was crazy and just about getting on his last nerve.

Dean Winchester had always been reckless. He’d always been a little insouciant and he’d always been a little crazy. But above all, he’d always been good at his job. He could hunt just as well intoxicated, he could dig a grave faster than anyone, and he knew the ins and the outs of the job better than anyone thought possible… so when he sat there sewing up his own side after a D-list ghost hunt, he couldn’t help but feel like an idiot.

He listened to Sam ream him a new one about getting his head out of his ass. He listened to his little brother tell him how he’d never seen Dean so out of it that he literally almost got himself killed on something so trite as a ghost hunt; a salt and burn which they’d done hundreds of times. He listened and he took the verbal lashing as he drank his beer because he knew that he deserved it.

It had taken Dean about a half an hour to get sick of his brother's voice and for him to yell at Sam that he knew he fucked up.

Since that night, Dean had been on edge. The brothers were on edge with each other. Sam didn’t know what was wrong with his brother. Dean wasn’t eating right, he was barely sleeping and he didn’t know if that was because of the copious amounts of alcohol he was taking in or if it was because of something else.

It was by the end of the two weeks that Sam sat his brother down and forced out of him what was going on before he was able to piece it together himself. Dean had been acting funny since he’d gotten stuck in that small town in Illinois.

And then… it all came out. Dean told him everything from the snow bank all the way until he was getting in his car again to come pick him up. He explained to Sam that he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He didn’t know why one night effected him the way he did and he just wanted to know how he could get rid of it.

Sam wanted to tell him that he couldn’t. He wanted to tell his brother that for the first time in his life, he was experiencing actual feelings for someone outside of their immediate family. He wanted to tell Dean that whoever this Cas was… he was important to him. But he knew that would never work. So he told Dean a different story.

Sam told Dean to forget the man he met. That this Cas was probably already with another guy and that he was already forgetting about him. Sam told him to move on and let it go because they were going to keep on moving and he didn’t have time for attachments. He told him their father would be pissed to find out he was growing attached to anyone. Some might wonder why Sam did that, why he would talk to his brother like that whose feelings were so clearly fragile. But when Sam heard the roar of the impala and the sound of the tires speeding off after going into the bathroom… he knew that his reverse psychology had worked.

That brought Dean exactly where he was at this moment: leaning on the impala as he watched Castiel move around the bookstore, appearing to be closing up shop.

His heart clenched at the sight of Castiel. How the hell was he so far gone on this man after one night? How the hell was he supposed to cope with that?

Castiel didn’t know why he’d agreed to the night shift after what he went through. He didn’t know why he would have agreed to do it by himself, either, but the woman who was supposed to be on shift with him had a son that was sick and he couldn’t let the woman simply leave him all by himself.

It had been peaceful. Slower than even most nights. He’d done simple things like restock shelves and make things neater. Then, of course, he’d done unhealthy thing which was walk by the spot he and Dean had sex so many times that he was sure he wore a hole in the floor where he stepped.

Before long, though, it was time to close and he couldn’t have been more thankful. He made sure everything was in its place, counted down the register, and began to shut the lights off as he left the store. He’d been looking through his pockets for the keys to Gabriel’s car when he happened to catch something out of the corner of his eyes and he looked up, his whole body freezing.

“Dean…?” he whispered.

Dean gave a slow smile, though that was the only thing that moved. Originally he hadn't planned to stay. Originally, his plan had been to come here, see Castiel just fine without him… and then he'd leave. That was that. But as he'd watched Cas, as he'd let himself believe he could have the man… he found himself rooted to the spot. “Hey, angel. Miss me?” he asked softly.

Castiel carefully stepped forward as if waiting for Dean to disappear like a mirage. But when nothing happened, he couldn’t control the squeal of delight that left him as he moved and wrapped his arms around him, practically throwing himself.

Dean laughed and caught Cas a little, his arms going around him tightly. “Mm. I’ll take that as a yes,” he muttered. “Though I don’t, honestly, know how,” he teased the other man.

“Because you’re a hot cowboy who rode into town and took my heart with you when you left,” he teased back, though it wasn’t completely untrue. He laughed before he pulled back, looking slightly unsure. “Wait, what are you doing here? Is something wrong? You said you only come back twice when there’s something wrong in a town? Is something wrong? I haven’t seen any odd deaths–”

Dean listened to Cas babble at first but he knew he couldn’t handle it. In a moment, he was leaning forward, quieting him with a kiss.

Castiel’s eyes fluttered but he leaned into it, letting them close. He hummed into it. “Is this why you came back?” he whispered against his lips. “Because I can open the store back up and we can push those couches together again…” he muttered as he kissed him again.

Dean pulled back with a chuckle after a moment, looking down into gorgeous blue eyes. “God help me, I missed you. You haven’t stopped going through my mind since I left this town,” he said, his voice in awe even though it was something he’d come to terms with.

Castiel’s heart thumped loudly in his chest. “Really?” he questioned.

“Really, angel. You’re all I think about… and I didn’t get it at first but I think I do now,” he said, watching him closely. “I think I need you. I think I need you like I’ve never needed anyone else. I told my brother what happened and he told me to give you up, that I shouldn’t even bother with you. I knew he was right... and yet the more he said it, the more I knew it wasn’t true. I am supposed to be giving up on you but I don’t see how I can do something like that.”

“Does this mean you came back to stay? Maybe stay with me a little while?” he whispered.

“I…” he paused. “I can’t do that, angel.”

Castiel frowned as he pulled away a little. “Then I don’t understand the speech. I don’t understand why you’re here if not for me, if not to be with me–”

“You misunderstand me, angel. I want desperately to be with you, to have you by my side. But I’m not here to stay. I’m not here to stay in this little town and not continue working. I’m here to ask you the most selfish thing I’ve ever asked someone. Ever, angel… on a monumental scale,” he whispered. “Come with me…”

Castiel’s eyes widened at Dean's request. “W-what?”

Dean couldn't believe what he was doing, he really couldn't. Never before had he so willingly brought someone into what he did and he should have turned. He should have run the other way if he truly cared about Castiel. If he truly cared about Cas he would turn tail and never see him again because his line of work brought death and destruction in its wake. It brought unhappiness and that would be all that Castiel would find.

And yet, he found it impossible to leave this alone. To leave Castiel alone. He found it impossible to just leave. Maybe he didn't have to bring Castiel in completely. Maybe he could convince him to stay away from what he did in a way and still come with him.

“Come with me, angel. It’s dangerous and I don’t make any guarantees that I’ll always be nice or even a good boyfriend. But I know you mean so much to me that I want you by my side. And don’t think I’ve glossed over the part where you’ve basically been looking for hunts after I told you how we do it. You said you wanted to learn how to defend yourself… and you also said you wanted more… you wanted away from this town. Come with me… and I can try to do that for you. It's so much to ask of you. It's _too_ much to ask of you. But if you feel half as much as I did… and you know you don't even have to do what I do. I would prefer you didn't. We could get you – us a house right in the middle of the states or something and I can come see you every time we're driving through and of course you'd be mine and I'd be yours–”

Castiel cut Dean off with a deep kiss, pulling Dean in by the collar of the of his leather to get him to stop talking.

If Castiel told the man in front of him right now that he hadn't thought about it, despite what he knew about the world dean lived in… he would have been lying.

Castiel pulled back to look at him. “I don't know how I feel about you. I know it's strong,” he said, thinking out loud. “I know it makes no sense to me. Whether we're just compatible, fated, or batshit crazy and just looking for someone to cling on to that's got nothing to do with the lives we lead on a regular,” he said, smiling when Dean chuckled just a little.

“That last one would make a hell of a lot of sense,” he said as he looked down, feeling like he was getting a rejection. And of course he was. Why would Castiel want to live a life with him? Why would he want to put himself in that much danger? For a guy?

“Truth be told,” Castiel continued. “I haven't exactly… left that world alone since you told me about it. I started digging, looking into occurrences that didn't make sense. There was one just a couple towns over I wanted to text you about but then I remembered… you didn't exactly leave your number…” he said, looking at Cas with an accusatory glance.

“Which I should have,” he nodded. “Might have helped both of us so that I didn't have to stalk you and show up here in the middle of the night– which was purely by chance. I had no idea where you lived but I remember hearing you mentioning about always being on the night shift,” he chuckled.

Castiel laughed softly. “I guess the point I'm trying to make is that… your world is dangerous and it's messy and bloody… and don't think I didn't feel you wince when I hugged you. Fresh wound, I'm guessing. But… I've always felt like I want to help people or at least do something more than ask if they'd like to sign up for a membership and save fifteen percent on their purchases,” he offered. “Whether it's helping you help people or some other way… I want to do something more…” he whispered. “And maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I have a death wish by coming with you. Maybe something is so very wrong with me,” he chuckled lightly before he looked up at Dean. “But I know what I feel for you. No matter how crazy I am…”

Dean perked a little, standing up straight when Cas said that. No. Castiel couldn't have been saying what he thought he was. It was some kind of trick. Clearly. Dean had come here as a life raft, knowing Cas would turn him down and it would be a last ditch effort to get over him. But was… was Castiel saying yes?

“So… what are you saying, exactly?” He whispered.

Castiel grinned. “I'm saying that… I should leave these keys in my brothers car for him to find when they come looking for me… and that you should take me far, far, away from here,” he said before he took a look at Dean's car. “And you should definitely do me in the backseat of your car…” he nodded. “It's too pretty not to.”

Dean smirked and moved, kissing Cas again. “I knew there was something I liked about you,” he whispered, his hands cupping his cheeks. “Angel, tell me you’re sure about this… you have to. Because I never should have asked you. This life is dangerous and… sometimes I don’t even know if I’m going to make it through the next hunt.”

Castiel kissed him deeply, pulling Dean in. “Then we should get going and have the time of our lives while we’re still living,” he whispered against his lips.

Dean pressed their foreheads together as he closed his eyes. How the hell was this man so perfect for him? How was it that he seemed to constantly say and do the right thing. It didn’t seem like someone like that existed. No one believed it did. But for Dean… it was definitely this man right here.

“Alright. Yeah. We’re both crazy but please… come with me,” he breathed.

Castiel smiled at him. “Give me five,” he whispered. After going back inside to collect some things, take some money from the register, and then drop off his brothers keys… he didn't hesitate to slip into the car with Dean. He’d left a note for his family. It told them he was leaving of his own free will… and not to look for him. He hoped that it would give his family some closure… but somehow he knew it wouldn’t. He hoped, also, that it wouldn’t hurt them too much. That they could understand he needed more.

Maybe he was making a big mistake. He didn't know Dean, not completely. Everything Dean had told him two weeks ago could have been a complete and utter lie. He could have truly been leaving with some serial killer, he knew that. And still he trusted the hunter. Call it a whim, a hunch, or a gut feeling… but he felt right in that car, sitting next to Dean.

Castiel grinned as Dean got on the road, only looking over when they passed the sign out of town. Part of him couldn’t believe he was doing this and the other part of him couldn’t for the life of him figure why he hadn’t gotten out sooner. “So this is it? Ride off into the sunset? Happily ever after?” he grinned.

Dean looked over at the other and seemed to think for a minute before his free hand laced his fingers with Castiel's. “No,” he said, shaking his head as he smiled he smiled. “Because, angel… we're just getting started,” he said before the car sped up just a little going down the road.

**Author's Note:**

> So I know in some parts it's a little rushed but I hope it's still as lovable to some as much as I loved it. I was thinking about making this a base fic and making little ficlets around it? What do you guys think? If you would like something like that, please let me know in the comments! :)


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